New Haven Independent

Preciado, a sixth-grader at Columbus Academy, and West, a junior at Metropolitan Business Academy, are the city’s first recipients of $1,000 scholarships, to be invested in their future college education through the Carson Scholars Fund. The fund was set up in 1994 by famed Yale-educated brain surgeon Ben Carson, who overcame poverty and other obstacles to become the head of the department of pediatric neurosurgery at the John Hopkins Medical Institutions.

In a City Hall ceremony Monday, Mayor John DeStefano and Bruce Alexander, of Yale’s Office of New Haven and State Affairs, praised these young people, whose humanitarian point averages are just as high as their grade point averages.

West not only excels in math, history, and AP statistics; she’s a tutor, works with Community Mediation on housing issues, and has organized clothing drives.

Giovanni Preciado, whose family is from Mexico, interprets for kids who need it at his school. He devised a program for the big sixth-graders to tutor kindergarteners on their reading and has helped seniors plant a garden at the Atwater senior center. He collects funds for people living in public shelter. And like West, he maintains an average above 3.75.

These first New Haven Carson Scholars were funded, one each, by Bruce Alexander and his wife Christine (pictured here with Reginald Mayo, superintendent of schools), and Yale’s Office of Public School Partnership. Any individual or business can provide a scholarship; the gift is in the amount of $1,500. The fiduciary agent is the New Haven Public School Foundation. The kids are nominated by principals and teachers in their respective schools, with the Carson Scholars Fund, located in Maryland, choosing the winners based on students’ application, essays, and recommendations.

“One of the reasons Ben and Candy Carson launched these scholarships,” said Chris Alexander, “was that there were too many young people being honored for their athletic prowess, and not enough for the qualities we’re honoring today.”

Where do such exemplary and inspiring young people come from? Well, their parents, but that’s not the entire answer. West, pictured here with her incredibly proud mom, Debra Conyers, said she was inspired in part by hearing a lecture given by Carson at the New Haven Public Library. Years before that, she lived through the agonizing and ultimately fatal illness of a relative with a rare condition that led to a kind of hardening of all the internal organs. Another relative was saved from the lethal outcome of an aneurysm because of a mesh device implanted in her vein.

“That’s why I plan to have a double major in college — not only pre-med but biomedical engineering.” And where was she going to apply to college? everyone asked. “To Yale,” she answered, whereupon Bruce Alexander withdrew his business card, gave it to Ms. West, and said, “When the time comes, be sure to call me.”

Young Giovanni Preciado thinks he too might want to become a doctor, but a pediatrician. His parents, Carlos and Lourdes, said he can do anything he wants because he is both strong and loving. “We used to have a large family around us,” explained Giovanni’s father. “An extended family, and he was always doing extra chores, helping out. He sees helping other people as an extension of his family.”

In addition to the scholarship awards, which are invested for future college expenses, the winners receive a medal, a T-shirt, and they participate in banquets for Carson scholars in cities across the country. The winner’s school receives a trophy. To date there are about 2, 250 Carson scholars in the U.S..

The New Haven Public School Foundation, whose principals, Patricia DeMaio and Bill Iovanne (on the far right) joined in the ceremonies, is eager for the Elm City to have more Carson Scholars. The contact is DeMaio at 946-8446. And for more information on the program, click here.